tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24355537619546083652018-03-03T04:55:24.554+13:00The undecided adventurerTriathlons, runs and other outdoor pursuitsvalenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.comBlogger253125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-23959482075340586342016-08-30T14:28:00.000+12:002016-08-30T14:28:24.972+12:00Tarawera Ultra 2016 - The one (hundy) that wasn't meant to be<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span lang="EN-NZ"></span><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This was my third attempt to get the Rotorua-to-Kawerau course nailed. In the previous two occasions we had the now legendary 5k vertical "fire course" and the shortened cyclone course. To say I was excited about the prospect of finally making it to Kawerau is an understatement. I’ve been ready to go the ‘bush’ way to that finish line for ages, it was just a matter of time.</span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR">With experience comes confidence, and my training and final preparations went smooth. The only preoccupation was that Nat is 8 months pregnant, and I did not want her to be on her own following me for a whole day. Without a nap or a co-equipper. I am a bit of purist in that sense and was happy to do without support crew or pacers, as long as we are all happy.</div><br /><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR">The race day was muggy, drizzly and windless for most of it. On account of that I was prepared to go 5 to 10% slower than my target time of 6:10min per km. I like to break the race in 5 phases that roughly equate to 20km chunks of the course:</div></span><dir><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><dir><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><b></b><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR"><b>The adrenaline phase</b>: From the start to the blue lake, I run in an overcaffeinated and oversugared blood supply. Everything is good and one can afford to do a couple of well-timed efforts to avoid bottlenecks. I did just that, but at some point I landed in a funny way that caused a lot of pain in the side of my lower quads. I though I’d run <u>through</u> the pain but it was only a thought… I ran <u>in</u> pain. The key word here is RAN, though.</div><b></b><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR"><b>The patience phase</b>: from the blue lake to Okataina is all about being patient, reign oneself in, walk the uphills that need to be walked, and let a lot of very keen beens pass you. This is the part of the race where I chose to do my own race or do someone else’s. Patience must prevail and it did prevail for me. The pain in my upper legs a friendly reminder that things can go anywhere in longer races like this one.</div><b></b><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR"><b>The confidence phase</b>: from Okataina to the Falls, this is the part of the race that I found the toughest mentally in my first attempt. I was not in a happy place and didn’t want to get back there again. This time I was confident in my physical and mental ability to get through this soulbreaking stage without issues. So… all the patience and savings made in the previous leg came to the fore and the body was able to carry on running through the technical bits. The scenery here is outstanding… and I enjoyed the fact of being able to still run albeit at a slower pace than thought (at this stage I was a good ½ hour behind the target time). Quads had not got any better, but there was a fresh pair of shoes waiting for me at 60k… if anything, the shoes would buy me another 25km to drop from the 100 to the 85 if the pain did not subside.</div><b></b><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR"><b>The persistence phase</b>: for the first time I was in the forestry roads of the last 40km of the race. The physical condition was not the best due to the pain (now isolated to the right leg only) and mentally I started to calculate risks and opportunities of going the full 100 or dropping to the 85. The decision needed to happen by km70, and as I approached the aid station I made the call to go left to the 85km course. The deciding factor was the risk of getting a serious injury and longer recovery thanks to an extra 2hr of running unwell. The maths was simple in my mind and there was no ego in the equation. Time to retreat and prepare for another battle. </div><b></b><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR"><b>The glory phase:</b> Once you’re in the last stage of such a long race, event when you are in the fart reaches of your physical and mental strength (did I mention that the last person I crossed on the course was at km 62?... yeah.. it is a lonely race in no man’s land) you know you have it in the bag. The endorphin release, the excitement and the vision of yourself having ‘knocked the bastard off’ act as a great motivator to get you through to the end. At least it worked like that for me. I was third through the line for the 85k finishers, but I hadn’t come here to do the 85… so I let Paul, the race director who was handling the medals at the end, know of my changes. He shook my hand and congratulated me on the finish.</div></dir></dir> <br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR">My take of the third Tarawera run is a mixed bag, on the one hand I still haven’t gone the full 100km course through the infamous ‘loop of dispair’. On the other hand, I tried a new distance, and I did very well with what the race threw at me. I am definitely coming back at some point in the near future.</div><br /><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR">Ten days past the race, I am fit and full of energy to be the best husband and father I can be. Time for me and Nat to be together and enjoy quality days, long walks and lots of house chores. It helps that I am not dealing with post-race niggles or rehab. I ran for the first time yesterday, and I was happy as every other time I go out for a run. </div></span><br /></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-17975789110511588182014-08-28T20:54:00.000+12:002014-08-28T20:54:01.454+12:00One per day – Sugar free July<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">J<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">uly was a month of recovery, I recovered a bit of form (thanks to a good few weeks swimming), I recovered mentally thanks to the study break at uni.And I recovered a bit of shape thanks to a sugar-free diet that was not quite sugar-free.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">I just cut any added sugar, sweet biscuits, scones, cereal bars, sauces, drinks, deserts and any other sugar-ladden food that was not naturally sweet. That meant I kept eating fruits and sweet veggies. And I also treated myself to a sweet treat once a week.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">The result was nothing extraordinary in weight-loss (I wasn’t looking to lose too much weight, anyway) but it was a good reflection on what habits I needed to shave off to keep to my sugar-free promise. It wasn’t extremely hard, but it was not a walk in the park either. I reckon doing this twice a year is a good way to go about it.</span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">What else happened?</span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7j8-FDq_YZo/U_7t9dlysjI/AAAAAAAAA_U/zSwEQKly9do/s1600/10455852_10152151263406097_8957278965811681617_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7j8-FDq_YZo/U_7t9dlysjI/AAAAAAAAA_U/zSwEQKly9do/s1600/10455852_10152151263406097_8957278965811681617_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">keeping to the pack at the Welly XC champs</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">We had the final race of the XC season, a 6-lap-12km affair in the northern beaches of Wellington region. Cross Country is good fun, and this race was great fun, firstly because it is hard mentally and secondly because it is good banter with club mates. My performance was nothing to write home about, I got into a group and there was no group ahead to aim for, therefore the interest went from going fast to staying-in.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">By the end, I had no legs for the sprint, so I trotted to a happy 46min finish 15</span><sup><span style="color: black;">th</span></sup><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">&nbsp;or so overall.</span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">In the pool front, we had our second Time Trial, and I was happy to see the time going down closer to 20 than to 25. There still a lot of room for improvement, but the signs are good.</span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Wellington is much colder than Auckland, and there were a couple of mornings that the cold and the wind made it easier to stay home than to go out training. I don’t regret a good lay-in, especially when the road is wet and windy.</span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">With the XC season all but finished, the focus was to road racing, or doing something else. I went for something else and started a long base-training block, aiming to get miles on the old 890’s and ready myself for the tri season</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">which is just round the corner.</span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">And then there’s August… but that’s another story</span></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-59471169579237105932014-08-13T20:38:00.003+12:002014-08-13T20:41:35.804+12:00One per month – June<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />June is the start of the winter. And this is our first winter in Welli, which is a colder city. The days went very very short straight from the start of the month. The rides home in the afternoon became shorter,and didn’t venture into places that are quite dark.<br />After 3 months and a half we finally started a swim squad proper. Even though is not as much as we used to swim back in Aucks, it is great to be back to 5:30am starts and great pool routines. Coming from 2 years of minimum 3.5km per session to nothing to a 2.5-3km per session gig was not too bad. We still miss the feeling of having just completed 4 or 5km of solid work, though. The first week of the squad was Time Trial Week. I won’t go into the detail, but it wasn’t as bad as we were expecting.<br /><br />For me, it was a confirmation that I had lost some of the magic... but that I still know how to pace.<br />Every split was pretty much spot on, except for the slow start.<br /><br />On the XC racing front, there was the Dorne Cup, a two-lap-8k race that crowns the best of welly. I<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4AvN46SWz30/U-sknr-LUGI/AAAAAAAAA_A/9BMGNqIUwDo/s1600/10296739_10152082375006097_2067594292320645340_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4AvN46SWz30/U-sknr-LUGI/AAAAAAAAA_A/9BMGNqIUwDo/s1600/10296739_10152082375006097_2067594292320645340_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">killing it at the Dorne cup</td></tr></tbody></table>did a little face plant on a hill, and then ran out of gas on the last 1km, but all in all I achieved my<br />goal of going under 30min.<br /><br />A week later was the event I was looking forward to. The Wellington half marathon. I was given a ticket by my mates in the old job, so I wanted to make them proud. I had six weeks of pretty solid prep, only hampered by a chesty cold that knocked me out a 6 days before the race (ie. just after the other race). I had toyed with the idea of trying to go for 75min , which would be my PB by a long shot. I knew I had the base, but I also knew that I had done bugger all between March and May.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qQ2XIOzpdFY/U-sj63TtDdI/AAAAAAAAA-4/5JrwakNn6UY/s1600/10419480_10204014806591800_8830013343062797680_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qQ2XIOzpdFY/U-sj63TtDdI/AAAAAAAAA-4/5JrwakNn6UY/s1600/10419480_10204014806591800_8830013343062797680_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wardrobe malcfunction 101</td></tr></tbody></table>Anyway, the race went well and I ended with a respectable 1:17 and change on a windy day. Loved it. Unfortunately I had to go for a pretty unconventional wardrobe choice, but it was all a matter of keeping warm and not letting the cold get the best of me.<br /><br />All in all, June was a great month to bed-in the routines for swim-bike and run, both for me and Nat.<br /><br />We also had essays and exams, and friends visiting, which is always a great way to keep motivated<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-60236059364405282602014-08-11T19:44:00.002+12:002014-08-11T19:44:42.519+12:00And the sprint finish<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nrUwNZ9X3EA/U-h0PwRwmdI/AAAAAAAAA-o/QYpioOEaeAE/s1600/10361033_10152042498376097_6954241053968374614_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nrUwNZ9X3EA/U-h0PwRwmdI/AAAAAAAAA-o/QYpioOEaeAE/s1600/10361033_10152042498376097_6954241053968374614_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blood, sweat and no glory. LOL</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-58192337311818674402014-08-11T19:43:00.000+12:002014-08-11T19:43:25.905+12:00One per month – May<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />Yeap... I did it again. Over three months with nothing said.<br /><br />Although I do have things to say. Just lack of time/motivation/a Dictaphone?<br /><br />Anyway... back the writing bloc. What happened in may? Looking at my diary I was well into training for the wellington half<br /><br />marathon in June. Lots of running, not a lot of swimming and starting to bike consistently. The cross<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K6jZb2DvrV8/U-hy5TogG_I/AAAAAAAAA-c/KkyUJgZJuF4/s1600/10372274_10152029708101097_936575269638342348_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K6jZb2DvrV8/U-hy5TogG_I/AAAAAAAAA-c/KkyUJgZJuF4/s1600/10372274_10152029708101097_936575269638342348_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><br />country season started in April, and I did two races in May, a 5Kyer for the Varsity Relays followed by a 10Kyer &nbsp;for the Vosseler shield (I love the athletic's naming system for their races). the next week.<br />Varsity was great, the 10k? not so much... I had a bad prep and a bad beard (look at the photo). The only good think was a massive sprint to the finish trying to get one-up on a good mate.<br /><br />The issue for cross country racing is being able to start fast, be strong up the hills and continue to be<br />fast in the flat. I can do all that... but not when I’m anaerobic. Steep learning curve there, but I think I got it pretty much sorted for the final race of the season.<br />Apart from that there was plenty of university activty, with a great essay on climate change and the obligations of New Zealand towards its citizens and and as part of been a responsible neighbour. Oh.. and a trip to Christchurch, a run through the glaciers and a super cool run to Huka falls.<br /><br />Livin' la vida loca in godzone :-)</div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-21631252508593334832014-04-08T21:30:00.000+12:002014-04-08T21:30:04.308+12:00Racing in the Queen city - Triathlon Nationals race report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">WOW what a fantastic day to be playing in the big smoke. Great sun, not too hot and no much wind. It was a recipe for fast racing.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This was my return after 2 years of not racing (for some reason or other) in the standard distance event. I never loved the distance because it was not short enough to play to my advantage as a swim-runner, but it was not long enough to play to my advantage as a consistent runner. Anyway, the opportunity came to go and do it and I was determined to enjoy it.</span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bUi4X6BLETg/U0PBMQljKlI/AAAAAAAAA98/zynxLwg1z1E/s1600/Takapuna's+Tri+078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bUi4X6BLETg/U0PBMQljKlI/AAAAAAAAA98/zynxLwg1z1E/s1600/Takapuna's+Tri+078.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First tri ever...&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The swim was a breeze, no major inconveniences for most of the leg. Because they send us in waves, we cought some of the slower guys from previous waves. In any case, I was nowhere near where I traditionally fare in these races, so I had a good time swimming protected by the big middle pack. The water temperature was good to swim with no wetsuit, but that would have meant a further 2 min of my time given away and I was not prepared to do that. At the end of the day, it is national champs and one has to deliver.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was a looooooong transition to the bike and I made it slower by putting a pair of socks. There’s two reasons for that, firstly, I was wearing my mate’s shoes and didn’t want any blisters or bleeding ruining them. Secondly, I was going to wear socks for the run anyway, so might as well put them on now and make a shorter T2. The bike was a 3 lap course mainly flat with one climb at the top of Queen Street. The climb was short enough and greatly compensated by a 1.5 km downhill section from the top of the golden mile to the Ferry building. That was the highlight of my race… doing 60k plus at full throttle on the busiest street of Auckland was an experience to repeat. In races like these, I am usually passed by a dozen plus others. This time I managed to hang on and even pass some people myself. I was thoroughly impressed by the performance of my lended bike. An old aluminium P3 that flew through the flats and ripped through the asphalt. Unfortunately I hadn’t had my ceremonial Nutella on Bagel brekkie, and I was banking on some gels to bring the extra energy. But I lost them somewhere. I realised only when I went to grab one after the first lap of the bike.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">T2 was fast and I was feeling good… although not flash-like due to the lack of caffeine and sugars. I ran at a steady pace with the idea of unleashing the beast in the last 2km.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But there was no beast, my run time was over 39 minutes, a good 10% over what I would consider my top runs. I was passed by a couple, but passed a few myself, so all in all I went up on the run too (4<sup>th</sup>&nbsp;fastest in the category) and finished in a respectable 2:14 and change. The best was yet to come, though.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;">On reflection I came to two very encouraging conclusions. First, I had a lot of fun and enjoyed the short distance like I hadn’t done before. Secondly, I was fairly competitive without specific training and virtually no swimming. So, there is not only potential for a more competitive performance, there’s potential for lots of fun doing many more races next season. And who knows… maybe even a world championships trips is not too far out of the way.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;">That brings an end to the season of multisport, I think. It's now time to go into hibernation mode and start a good block of endurance and strength training.&nbsp;</span></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-47693043855598787232014-04-01T19:12:00.001+13:002014-04-01T19:12:48.600+13:00Back to basics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Had enough of this ultra thing… for now<u></u><u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">After careful meditation the last couple of weeks I came to the conclusion that I am biting much more than I can actually chew in ultra running terms. That is not a bad, thing, on the contrary… it will help strengthen my jaw and, with time, allow me to chew as much as I bite.<u></u><u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Metaphors aside, the learning from Tarawera and Auckland 70.3 was: I can get away with doing long races without base. But only to a certain point. That certain point for me is a decrease in performance that sees me fall from the upper lines of the results sheet. It is a blow to the ego and I have now healed.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mbjDeX0zBZA/UzpYz1mepDI/AAAAAAAAA9o/1XwnBaQSRbw/s1600/VTUM_010914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mbjDeX0zBZA/UzpYz1mepDI/AAAAAAAAA9o/1XwnBaQSRbw/s1600/VTUM_010914.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 9pt;">What rests to be done is to go back to the drawing table and re-match ambition with the realities of how much time there is to put on the training. And how much choice. Should I cut on swimming for good? (not) Shall I start training a bit earlier to get miles in? (maybe). Shall I take a month off?<u></u><u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">We’re in the part of the cycle where thing start to wind-down and one starts reflecting on the past season and build-up to the long slogs of winter training. It is also planning time in my household… so there will be list of races by the end of the month. And they will be made public.<u></u><u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">I’ve also joined a run club, for the first time I’ll be mixing it up with pure runners and learn a few of their tricks. May even enter an event or two to see how much I can hold my own.<u></u><u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">For the time being, there is this list:<u></u><u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">April<u></u><u></u></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">6 Auckland Triathlon<u></u><u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">12 Scottish run club race</span></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-77492503821018759732014-03-18T20:04:00.001+13:002014-03-18T20:04:08.777+13:00Tarawera Ultra Race Report – A Risky Bet <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;">I am not a betting man. Let’s say there are enough risks out there to add the risk of losing to an uncertain outcome by the promise of easy wins. I’m talking about time and effort, not money. I plan my training to be in good fitness around the racing season and enter a few key events. One of them was the Tarawera Ultra, which I could have bet I would run in a time of 10:12:00 to 10:18:00. I was (am) that fit. Or that’s what I thought until mid-afternoon</span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1740721307" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; line-height: 13.800000190734863px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Friday</span></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;">. But let’s start from the beginning, and my first bet.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">This summer of racing was cut in half with the addition of the ‘big move to wellington’ thing in our life. The move took its toll in the amount of time I spent training long and slow for the race. I ran more in the first 10 days of Feb than in the month of Jan. I was cramming. And that is a very risky bet… you train in a very fine line with reduced recovery times and fatigue starts building up. A few days off here and there helped release some pressure and I went through almost 400k of running with no problems. Come March 1<sup>st</sup>&nbsp;I was in good shape and the big runs were all out of the way. A good diet and a few runs would see me ready to roll at Tarawera.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iLQoK8LWt-Q/UyfvG0ohfvI/AAAAAAAAA88/9U1WNuEFxOc/s1600/VTUM_005670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iLQoK8LWt-Q/UyfvG0ohfvI/AAAAAAAAA88/9U1WNuEFxOc/s1600/VTUM_005670.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></span></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zp1lbFspHYg/Uyfvdarnx_I/AAAAAAAAA9E/IBAHN-chKbs/s1600/VTUM_015187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">The weather goods threw in a weakened tropical cyclone that was still severe enough in parts of the country. That meant our race went from 100k to 70 (actually 72 and change)&nbsp;&nbsp;kilometres. The organisers maintained the climbing in the reduced distance, which translates to a slower pace (at least for me). Given my training, this should have been an advantage, but it turned out quite differently.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">The start:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">It was fast, dusty and drizzly. I remember going up&nbsp;&nbsp;and up and then getting more agitated than it’s wise for the first 10min of a potential 10hr run. Then I stuck to a group and managed to pass a few here and there until I realised I’ve left the water bottle with Nat at the start/12k aid station. As I was thinking that I took a fall with a root while bombing down a small hill. The adrenaline shot from the fall helped wake up and keep going through the first lap.&nbsp;&nbsp;I stopped to get it and started drinking. An hour has passed and it was time to start playing smart. From 12 to 25km I slowed down on purpose, drank and had 2 gels to ensure a good rhythm.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">The middle:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">From 25 to 52km it was a slow slog. I could feel the left part of my body hurt (not much) and tried to keep checking my form for any signs of damage. Ate gels, some fruits and water and after seeing too many people pass me, I started to pass other people again. The road was getting busier with people coming and going. It was great to see many mates along the way. It was even better to see Nat at the 3<sup>rd</sup>&nbsp;aid station (which she was not supposed to reach) with gels and fresh socks. All went very slow at that aid station, but I managed to gulp down a full bottle of ginger beer, ½ orange and new socks from wifey.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">The end</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Zp1lbFspHYg%2FUyfvdarnx_I%2FAAAAAAAAA9E%2FIBAHN-chKbs%2Fs1600%2FVTUM_015187.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zp1lbFspHYg/Uyfvdarnx_I/AAAAAAAAA9E/IBAHN-chKbs/s1600/VTUM_015187.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></span></a><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Was the best part of my race. It felt to me I went faster than the actual 2:19:00 time splits suggest. I felt like it was an hour and a half. I remembered this final leg from last year’s VTUM and I had secretely prepared for this contingency. My legs were not the fastest going up that mother of a hill that is the Western Okataina track, but they were good to take charge down the hill to Millar road and to the end. It was a blast and I started reconsidering earlier thoughts of not racing again on longer distances. I finished in 7hours 38min, which is a very good time but not the time I would have bet on. It was a wet last hour or so and another hour waiting for mates to do their thing… they all came on with a smile in their face, which is always encouraging.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Third time lucky?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;">In 2013 it was a fire course. In 2014 it was a cyclone course. What will be the Vibran Tarawera Ultra of 2015? I am not a betting man. So I won’t bet on it next year. But don’t quote me on that. I could be talking a lot of sh-t&nbsp;</span></span></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-28444081106456357742014-02-26T21:28:00.002+13:002014-02-26T21:28:24.724+13:00Auckland 70.3 race report (I know... a bit late, aye?)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Let’s pick up where I left out. It was a sunny Saturday in Auckland, and we went to transition to leave the bike.</span></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PSkZqtr0jWA/Uw2jbHCSHSI/AAAAAAAAA8g/y1XwTuXXMbM/s1600/20140119-IMG_2795.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PSkZqtr0jWA/Uw2jbHCSHSI/AAAAAAAAA8g/y1XwTuXXMbM/s1600/20140119-IMG_2795.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking good at the start</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The next day was a stunner, with great weather and a big sun. Water and air tem were on the hot side and the swim-bike-run was hot too. The first leg was a PB for me, with just over 26min to do the 1.9k, the bike was one of the worst starts I can remember for a race. But it got better towards the end, still, a few minutes longer than the previous year. The run was hot and I did not switch into aggressive race mode, it was more of a soft run. I knew from the start of the run that it was unlikely I’d be PB-ing on this one.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The final result was a race 3min slower than last year. With a lot less training and a lot more suffering. I still loved it and could not have wished for a better farewell to Auckland.&nbsp;&nbsp;Soooooo looking forward to come back, though.</span></span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nns9q0mW278/Uw2kUZga1MI/AAAAAAAAA8s/x9mmM_zybFk/s1600/20140119-IMG_2861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nns9q0mW278/Uw2kUZga1MI/AAAAAAAAA8s/x9mmM_zybFk/s1600/20140119-IMG_2861.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking not too fast<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">HELLO WELLINGTON</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">With the race done and a relocation of our home for the last 8 years in sight, we went into full packing-moving-finding a house mode. There were a few farewell dinners too. And a lot of work at work too. Let’s say it was entertaining and certainly not super-focussed on training. Between the race and the 5</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;of Feb there were a few runs, swims and rides spread randomly. I still call that training, though&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-size: small;">J</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">.</span></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">We arrived to Wellington on the 7</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;of Feb and I went into full training mode for Tarawera on the8th. There was no hiding when you lack training on a 100km course, and there was a lot of cramming to be done. Keep tuned to the progress report</span></span></span></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-16574993828093346902014-02-17T22:27:00.001+13:002014-02-17T22:27:08.474+13:00Good bye Auckland: Let’s race<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">(posted post-move... funny how things actually pan out... more to come in the next post Hello Wellington: let's train</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">So, we’re moving.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">An opportunity came out of nowhere and it was a good one to grab, as a consequence our whole household of two will be moving to Wellington in a few days.&nbsp; In total, there was 40 days from inception (note the pop culture quote here) to big roadtrip day. We’re now somewhere in the middle.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">Endurance sport is somewhere in the middle, not in the foreground but not in the background either. There has been packing, planning, selling, buying and there is a lot of goodbyes to make with all the lovely people of Auckland who’s been nice to us.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">Before the big news the plan was:&nbsp; Race Rotorua Half (see previous post), tramp around the south, Run half a Hillary Trail (see another good post) and race Auckland 70.3, then go on a training binge until Tarawera Ultra.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">After the big news the plan was: Race Wellington triathlon, Race Tarawera Ultra.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">What really happened was: Race Rotorua Half, tramp around Ruapehu, run for a team for Tauranga Half, get a sneaky last minute entry (as someone else) to Auckland 70.3</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">It’ll be an understatement to say it was a busy few weeks. But at the same time it has been rewarding in many aspects that affect race performance:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8a8lAibMNc/UwHVtTMUiCI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/-MJ5ZiWm_8I/s1600/2014-01-18+12.32.23-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8a8lAibMNc/UwHVtTMUiCI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/-MJ5ZiWm_8I/s1600/2014-01-18+12.32.23-2.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div><ol style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 36pt;"><li style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 15px;">I have slept more</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 15px;">I have trained fresher</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 15px;">According to my latest coopers’ test (see a great post from 2010) I have also reached an excellent standard of run fitness (a good VO2 number that I won’t put out because I’m too modest)</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 15px;">I have got a lot of love from friends feeling happy about our big move</li></ol><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">With all that in mind, I’m getting ready for the race in two days with peace of mind that things are were they should be and I am saying good bye to Auckland in the best possible way… swimming, biking and running all around town.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Keep tuned for race report&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">:-)</span></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-89328739909443741582014-01-16T13:18:00.001+13:002014-01-16T13:18:46.965+13:005 years on - Rotorua Half Ironman race report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The Rotorua half was my first half ironman and third ever triathlon 5 years ago. It was December 2008 and I've been training for 6 months to race. I didn't have many mates from the triathlon world, I had attended a few brick sessions with who was later my coach. My parents were arriving to spend Christmas in NZ, so there were a few checklists and plans in place to ensure I could survive a race longer than anything I've done before in any sport.<br /><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The race went well to start with, I was top 12 out of the water, reflecting my strong(er) swimming background, the bike business was long, tiresome and plagued with GI issues due to overplanning on my behalf (oh… the younger days when I would actually follow other's nutrition advice) the run was stinking hot, with a personal worst over the distance that has stood the test of time :-(. All in all, a great day at the office, and a steep learning curve in the endurance world a was happy with a 5:19 knowing there was potential to go under 5 with all the learnings taken on race day.</div></div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5 years is a long time and a lot of things have happened. The most important of them is that I have, over the period, applied myself physcally and mentally to train for endurance sport. I've done countless hours of running. I've cycled over hills, country roads and a number of places, I've woken up at 5 in the morning to go and beat the sh-t out of me in the swimming poo. I've drunk litres of coffee with mates chatting and exchanging learnings from racing, training, gear and so on. In that long time I've become a better athlete and a better person overall.&nbsp;</div></div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This years iteration of the Vegas half was a different kind of monster. The swim course is a 1k lap that we do twice, the bike leg changed to a different course with a few more rolling hills and the run was made thougher with the introduction of a section of off road running around the green lake. My preparation was different as well, race plan was a lot simpler and the only downside is that I didn't prep my wetsuit, so I gave away a few minutes on the swim.&nbsp;</div></div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The bike section is a test of good pacing, there are many hills and after the 2nd hour of racing they start to make a dent in your strength. One has to be mindful of that and not get carried away when some team racer or a youger athlete powers past in the first 45km. 'Tis also important to fuel some sugar to the old muscles, hills are not climbed burning fat, they are sugar-suckers and one has to plan for that. Remember, this is just the middle section, there are 90 to 120 minutes of running to follow. In brief, I got out of the water in 30th place in just under 30min and came back home 12th after biking my way through.&nbsp;</div></div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hu4xQQGwS5g/UtclQQsr7AI/AAAAAAAAA78/_Nd_53_2sjE/s1600/1463607_234421830067850_1332316233_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_795463="null" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hu4xQQGwS5g/UtclQQsr7AI/AAAAAAAAA78/_Nd_53_2sjE/s1600/1463607_234421830067850_1332316233_n.jpg" height="212" hua="true" width="320" /></a>The run is 85% off road, and I like to think myself as a good off road runner, so there was a good change to make up some places. As it happened, it took me longer than anticipated to get my rhythm and it was well over 5km when I started to run at the desired pace. I cought one, two and thanks to the company of a team runner, I kept the pace to pass #3 on the last 4km of the race. I finished in the top 10 of the race, how cool is that!. </div>It was so cool that I had a wee chat to my grandma who was looking from above. <br /><br />Anything else to say about Rotorua half?<br />A great race in a great location. and a good way to celebrate the sport in company of two good mates&nbsp;who also came racing and the amazing support&nbsp;crew&nbsp;(a.k.a. the wifes)&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-64904249465286379412013-11-20T20:08:00.000+13:002013-11-20T20:08:04.027+13:00Binge training<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It's that time of the year. The winter is long gone, the last winter storms didn't happen and no sheep perished under a snowstorm in the South Island. As I write this at 8 o'clock there is still about 30 more minutes of daylight. University ended and work is crazy busy, but only for three more weeks.<div>Summer… ladies and gentlemen is finally here and we're up for half a year worth of good stuff.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ww1yWt_ZesY/Uoxfu2eL6QI/AAAAAAAAA7g/i20_ByPfDu8/s1600/8573620538_c563a89809_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ww1yWt_ZesY/Uoxfu2eL6QI/AAAAAAAAA7g/i20_ByPfDu8/s320/8573620538_c563a89809_z.jpg" width="320" /></a>We had our first sea swim of the season, and then the second one and a couple of swim races too. I'm at a stage of my training life where my gains in swimming are marginal or almost none when it comes to speed. But I am getting better in my navigation and enjoying more the races.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am still to do a brick session, I've been lazy to turn up and opted to go for long rides instead. All of a sudden, all that free time comes very handy to catch up on the ol' triathlon training.</div><div><br /></div><div>On top of all that, my better half is going to be away for three weeks, which means that the house will be empty and silent. What's my antidote? 1. go for a ride 2. go for a run 3. go for a swim 4. go out with mates for a ride, a run or a swim.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>I've entered a half ironman, so it's about time to do some triathlon specific training. More of that in the next post</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-26459138381605224232013-11-04T19:49:00.001+13:002013-11-04T19:51:51.956+13:00A view from the top - Auckland Marathon (half) race report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had a great race last Sunday. The Adidas Auckland Marathon is established in my calendar as a race to do more for training reasons than for actual performance. This year I decided (last minute) to challenge myself and see where I could go. There were two objectives, the first one to go between 1:16:00 and 1:18:00, the second one was to be in the top 25 finishers. Considering that the race is two weeks after a tough 60km ultra race, the objectives were challenging enough. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O3ZV806S2nk/UndC9cECQaI/AAAAAAAAA7M/mbMMnJzWm5c/s1600/1456083_10152008973477089_500436399_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O3ZV806S2nk/UndC9cECQaI/AAAAAAAAA7M/mbMMnJzWm5c/s320/1456083_10152008973477089_500436399_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can’t say I did a lot of threshold training, and the speed work on the track has been less consistent than in previous year. &nbsp;I did, though, have a huge base, and a good set of strategies that could help me be efficient come race day. Eat lightly the day before, do a long warm-up, start fast to avoid the congestion of 10,000 people on the road at the same time, pace with the front bunch, where the guys in running club singlets should be hanging, which I knew where about the 1:15 to 1:20 finish time area. Luckily enough there was photo finishes of the last 10 races in the registration area, which helped me to learn that the first women would be running pretty much the time I had in mind.&nbsp;Nat was also racing, which is good to deal with the anxiety and prep of the day before. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The race</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It started fast, but not as fast as I was expecting, which help me stay calm and save energy. The pace continued for the first 10km and all along I was where I wanted to be, with a couple of other guys who were running quite steady too. I had a double serve of gels for the race, not my favourite food nor the brand I like the more, but I forgot to buy my favourite gels before the race and had to make do with whatever was in my foodbox.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The 10k mark went unnoticed, as I did not look at my watch too often. The idea was to err on the side of calm on the first half and then let go at the second half. When I looked at the watch it was 11.5km and just over 41min, life is good. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the guys took off and I suck to him, we passed two other racers and then it was time for the harbor bridge, I didn’t follow the guy ahead’s punishing uphill pace, and when I got to the top I could feel my quads giving up. I gelled up and carried on, but the pain was there to stay. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last 5km was where I could go for a fast finish, and it would have gone if I had less pain in my leg. My gait shortened, and although I had a few heartbits left, there was no muscular response to accompany, which sucked. I may have lost almost a minute on those 5km, but I didn’t let that turn me down and soldiered through the finish.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The result</span></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-471a09f3-21cd-063a-3868-17c4fbe0dbd7"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I achieved one, and failed on the other of my goals, a &nbsp;1:19:02 got me to the finish in 23</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">rd</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> position and I am happy with such a great result. There are areas of improvement, but overall, it was the best run race I’ve done this season in terms of planning and execution. It feels good to go fast, it is great to go fast for a long period of time, and it's a huge satisfaction that the legs deliver on the day. I am a happy Valen today</span></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-19187473571986396332013-10-28T09:33:00.001+13:002013-10-28T09:33:46.681+13:00Waihi - Kaimai Killer ultra race report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A year ago I dipped my feet into the river of ultra. Both in a metaphorical and literal sense, I got into the ultra world by taking on the Kaimai killer in the middle of a weather bomb. All I remember was cold rain and surface water on the track, to the point where running (at least for me) was not possible. Let’s say that it was a steep learning curve, all of a sudden I learned about my shortcomings in the training to the race, in my nutrition strategy and the overall toughness of a race where you have to be focussed for over 5 hours, which is the time a half ironman race takes. It was fun, character building fun.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1qI52zqJXUE/Um13eh1uQNI/AAAAAAAAA6I/2tC6I2vmF04/s1600/IMG_1018HighContrast_color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1qI52zqJXUE/Um13eh1uQNI/AAAAAAAAA6I/2tC6I2vmF04/s320/IMG_1018HighContrast_color.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And a year makes a lot of difference. I was a year fitter and a year wiser. This means that I did not enter the race until 1 day before, once I was absolutely sure the weather was going to be OK. It also meant that the preparation and planning were a lot more sparse, my training must have been somewhat more ‘smart’. We stayed in a DOC campground a few metres from the race HQ, just perfect for the 5am race start. My nutrition strategy was less overprepared, it was fruits (fresh and dried), nuun water and a couple of bars. There was a big bottle of mountain dew waiting for me at the marathon point, to avoid last years’ bonk at 45km. And that was about it.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The race</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The early start means that 1.5 to 2 hours of the race are done in the dark. These are technical stretches where I lose ground to mountain runners because I am somewhat more risk-averse that these bastards. I hung on to my headtorch and said to myself that I needed to stay in touch with the front bunch for the first 8km, where last year I lost a lot of ground. It didn’t quite happen and I found myself isolated again, running through an empty field with two quite intimidating bulls for company. I was somewhere in the 8th or 9th place, though, and that was spot on where I wanted to be. Remember, I had a plan for the long run and many of the guys ahead may not. There are a number of river crossings, and I managed to fall or slip on all of them, the first one brought me a small cramp-like feeling that didn’t ease until the end of the race</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The middle of this race is where I feel the best. The two big hills are behind and the terrain flattens to a rolling sort of track. It i also when my breakfast finally settled and the energy is flowing well. Besides the little cramp-like feeling I was on a high. To top that up I met a guy, Matt, who had to make a toilet stop in the bush and we sort of got on with each other after checking he was OK. He was a good runner (or so I thought) and we worked for each other. I learned who was first, second, third and fourth and we were somewhere in 8th and 9th place. Talking and running we struck a good pace and caught and passed 7th and 6th and we would eventually catch 3rd and 4th Alistair and Steve. We formed a good group and ran for a good couple of k’s until 3rd placer upped the pace on a hill. I followed and made sure I stuck behind and didn’t do any extra work. All of a sudden I was with a chance of placing :-) that motivation alone got me through the final 5km back to the race HQ and the point of the marathon.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Alistair was having a big feed as I walked into the marathon point, my plan was to be a bit faster and have just the mountain dew and pack something for later. I had to take my shoes to remove some debris and I was good to go. Matt caught us at this point. Three of us left together, and I was on a plan not to set the pace, but to follow attacks and conserve energy. My nutrition plan is gentle on the stomack, but it is not so energy dense that I can overspend, therefore the next 19km were about conserving energy until 3k to go and spending all of it in the good downhill to the finish. Whatever happens happens.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cdWWApNJ81M/Um14m9krXFI/AAAAAAAAA6U/WiVSoCHBenE/s1600/IMG_1037HighContrast_color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cdWWApNJ81M/Um14m9krXFI/AAAAAAAAA6U/WiVSoCHBenE/s320/IMG_1037HighContrast_color.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We lost Alistair, he needed his body to do the digestion stuff for him. I took careful note of that, as he would definitely feel much better towards the end of the race. Matt and I carried on for not much longer, as he set a crackling pace up a 5km, 400m vertical hill and I cracked. I was now running for fourth, not ideal but not too bad, and just about 1 hour better than last year if I kept the pace. The next hour and a half I run by myself and tried to limit my losses. The final dash to the finish was OK, but I made sure I kept a steady pace, because Alistair is a much better climber and he surely made some ground on me. As I was on the 59th kilometre, I began to relax and plan the rest of the day. I was saying to myself ‘I got this in the bag, I’m gonna be fourth overall and 3rd open mens’.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And it was a case of&nbsp; ‘it’s not over until the fat lady sings’. Alistair blazed past and pushed me aside in a nice steep downhill. I stuck behind and waited until the terrain gets flatter, I may had a chance at a long sprint in flat terrain. I put my head down and didn’t look back until I crossed the line. I gave it all I had on those 600m and it paid off. I crossed 1 minute and a bit ahead.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The good, the bad and the ugly</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The good: I stuck to a plan and it worked.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The bad: I was somewhat short on the energy front. Could I have run better uphill with more sugar?</span></div><br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The ugly: the last 15km of this race are tough on the mind, real tough</span></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-21725396347219779342013-10-11T18:14:00.000+13:002013-10-11T18:14:42.471+13:00Do you have it in you?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CqjFs4ZalR8/UleIvzMa-RI/AAAAAAAAA5s/3-yGGJiX0AY/s1600/8575159111_cf4faf39c1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CqjFs4ZalR8/UleIvzMa-RI/AAAAAAAAA5s/3-yGGJiX0AY/s320/8575159111_cf4faf39c1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a><b id="docs-internal-guid-78e246b5-a5e7-b767-9828-9a1e6218bfc7"></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78e246b5-a5e7-b767-9828-9a1e6218bfc7"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tomorrow we’re going out on a very long bike ride with a mate. The idea is to complete it. I am nowhere near in need of such a long ride at this stage of my training, but it will be good as a fitness test, fat-burning exercise and start of a taper period before the 60k ultra a week after. </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78e246b5-a5e7-b767-9828-9a1e6218bfc7"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The reason for the ride is to carry on with a classic ride from Auckland to Coromandel that has been happening for the last 4 years. It is also a good way to help my friend who’s got a 200k ride in 3 weeks time and needs to do the distance to know he has it in him. </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78e246b5-a5e7-b767-9828-9a1e6218bfc7"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which gave me a new take on another reason why we go out training that I hadn’t thought before. Some times we go training just to know we can finish an event we haven’t done before. I remember my first triathlon to be quite a long day in the office. I had never combined a 500m swim, 20k ride and 5k run in the past. And even thought I completed it, there was a few moments of doubt during that race. With time I learned to work around the doubts and voices that come upon.</span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78e246b5-a5e7-b767-9828-9a1e6218bfc7"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we split the race in three, we have hope, doubt and belief. The start of the race is full of hope and good anxiety. The middle of the race gets a bit more serious, and at some point or another there’ll be a bit of doubt, which seems to be the way the body whines about the hard times we’re giving to it. Then there’s belief, the end of the race is all about getting all that self confidence back and pulling ourselves together to get to the finish knowing we’ve given our best. Post race there will be another three stages, but that’s the subject of another post. </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78e246b5-a5e7-b767-9828-9a1e6218bfc7"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, back to the long ride of tomorrow, we’re doing it for the moment when the voices and the doubt come knocking at my mate’s helmet: 3 hours into the race and going up a hill, mildly dehydrated and hungry, and probably a bit uncomfortable already by being on a small bike seat. The voices will say, do you have it in you? If all goes to plan, he’ll say “hell yes!” I did it two weeks ago and finished it. And I can do it again today. </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78e246b5-a5e7-b767-9828-9a1e6218bfc7"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whether you need to do it all before to know you have it in you depends on one’s self belief, number of years training and the length of the race. My take on it has been usually towards the other side, keeping a bit of doubt has worked as a motivator to show up at every training session, as each of them increases the probability (but not the certainty) of getting the successful outcome. &nbsp;Let’s play an example.</span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78e246b5-a5e7-b767-9828-9a1e6218bfc7"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You’re running neck to neck with another competitor for a long bike/run/swim, it’s close to halfway and you’re already above your sustainable effort mark, you’re tired, a bit thirsty and maybe hungry. You’re all focused on the task ahead and all of a sudden doubt starts to creep. DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOU? what would you prefer? To know you have it in you because you’ve done it before or because you’ve trained mind and body well enough?</span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-78e246b5-a5e7-b767-9828-9a1e6218bfc7"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep training wise </span></b></div><div><b id="docs-internal-guid-78e246b5-a5e7-b767-9828-9a1e6218bfc7"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-78106529028420303962013-10-02T10:34:00.001+13:002013-10-02T10:34:07.626+13:00Breaking it into chunks<span xmlns=''><p>Another guy breaks the Marathon World Record. How crazy is that?. There have been already hundreds of analysis of the race, I liked <a href='http://www.sportsscientists.com/2013/09/a-20323-marathon-world-record-analysis.html'>this one</a> I like the chart breaking the race into 5k splits and eigths or quarters. <br /></p><p>The chart got me thinking on my own performance. The idea of breaking races into chunks is not new, and I have had a few races planned like that. <br /></p><p>The problem is the implementation of the strategies come race day. If it is a triathlon, there's always the chance that the plans go out de window due to blowing up on the swim, or too early on the bike. On one occasion I went all as per plan, only to find myself getting hypothermic during the run and not been able to execute what I wanted. Another time it was the weather. <br /></p><p>If it is a run race, there's the issue of having the competition dictate the pace and forgetting about listening to my own breathing. A few weeks ago I turned into a 18k trail run. I wasn't meant to be there, but someone offered me a spot and I would not refuse a chance to get out with the wife and friends. As it turns out, the early pace was set by guys that slowly disappeared and I found myself sitting somewhere in the front of the field following a very good climber up a hill. I soon realized that a wall was going to be hitting me at a very high speed. Then I slowed, gathered some strength and hit the last 4k's like a ton of bricks (sub 3:45 pace). It took me a while, but I passed the good climber, and I ran out of field to catch the guy ahead (15 seconds anyone?).<br /></p><p>Back to the marathon, it takes a lot of self confidence to slow down in order to break the record. But being such a complete athlete, Kipsang knew that it would be all within reach. And the two sub 2:50min/km pace made up the 15 seconds of light between his glory and the former record. It is very small margins, and nailing it as he did is a commendable thing. <br /></p><p>What's up in life? Uni finishing soon. Tri sieason starting soon. Sea swim season starting soon. Ultra run in 3 weeks!... with my hands full at the moment. <br /></p></span>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-10690121950083613662013-08-26T21:51:00.000+12:002013-10-28T11:44:14.265+13:00The Hillary Trail - Second time lucky<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The Waitakere Ranges are a premier regional park at a handy distance to home. The Hillary trail winds through the park in and out of the bush and coastlines of the Manukau Harbour.<br /><div>Designed as a 2/3/4 days trek, the track has been run by many in the short time since it was created. There is even a website that lists the finishers, records and so on.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>In my previous attempt I cut short at just over 25km. There were races coming up and in my assessment &nbsp;I found that I would be doing more harm than good by finishing. There was no unsavoury quit, just a sense of unfinished business.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Being over 70km in length, the logistics are vital to get a good run. I was lucky enough to be in company of a bunch of crazy people who organized Midnight Madness IV (MMIV) with the August full moon. The name says it all, it was a night run, and it was a crazy one. This time I finished, and the tale of that run from Muriwai to Arataki follows:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. The cake</div><div>I had missed MMIII last year, and thought it was a cool idea. It is usually done on the winter solstice, which gives much more night to keep running fresh. This year the date was moved to August, and my birth day to be more specific. I made sure I took cake to with me and after checking my list of NASA proportions, I left to meet the rest of the crew. It was a shocker of a week weather-wise and a number of candidates had to postpone. Seven of us started.&nbsp;After sharing a bit of the cake we left in a drizzle that would die within minutes. It was 6 past midnight.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>2. The cliffs</div><div>The first part of the northward run goes alon one of the most beautiful parts of the trail, the track hugs a series of cliffs and bluffs and the Tasman sea lashes its energy on the bays below. The view during the day are spectacular. On a full moon night they're even better. I was kitted with a single layer of merino and a waterproof jacket which kept me in perfect temperature for the very cautions start. We formed a group of 3 that would go 50k together. every now and then we would look back and see the headtorches spread over in the distance, among the dark cliffs.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. The cows</div><div>The first 15km took just over 2 hours, &nbsp;a bit slower than expected, but making it from A to B without falls was worth the effort. Two nice guys (Jo and Mark) took the responsibility of caring for us, and they waited in a car at several points to help us refuel, clean some blood and give us good vibes. Quick bite and drink and we were off. The next section goes inland round a lake, up a massive hill and into farmland before descending to the beach again. Running through a field of spooked cows who looked at us was quite an experience. We got to stop #2 in just under 4 hours, which was nice. There was a bit of a problem halfway through, with one of the guys falling and cramping, but nothing too serious.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. The dunes</div><div>The next section took us through a very charged waterfalls (streams responding to the rainy week just passed), another sight to remember. Then we went inland and back onto a beach. Below 6 hours and within my secret target of under 12 hours. Lack of sleep was not showing yet, but I knew the mind is pretty good at playing tricks. I downed a Mountain Dew and a scone to keep the happy mood. &nbsp;We carried on to the best part of the run, it is flat, the sun was starting to light and we were running among a dune field with our torches off. The air was fresh and I was as happy as I've ever been while on a run. &nbsp;I regretted not having brought the camera with me.&nbsp;</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kKzgVIxcYU4/Um2XDTBvNuI/AAAAAAAAA6k/RooIt4UwpLs/s1600/DSC_0323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kKzgVIxcYU4/Um2XDTBvNuI/AAAAAAAAA6k/RooIt4UwpLs/s320/DSC_0323.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div>5. The hills</div><div>Stop #4 was an eventful one, we lost one guy that took a wrong turn. I went back a couple of k's and shouted to check he was OK. As I heard no answer I mentally played different scenarios for 15 minutes untill I saw he coming from the wrong part of the track. I waited for him to have a quick snack and we carried on 10 minutes in arrears. The12 hour mission was out of the picture, but the mood was happy nonetheless. From the beach we go up a bluff and carry on on a hill crest upping and downing among the rocks and the gorse. Then we carry on climbing to the highest point of the trail. On a good day is a tough climb, on a day with no sleep and 50km on the legs is a character building run.&nbsp;</div><div>Maybe that's the whole reason why one does this things. Head donw and carry on... until the next stop.&nbsp;</div><div>If anything, I underestimated the nutrition for this part of the run, I took note for future runs.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Noon</div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tw7ym9h3dYc/Uhsk0FeqnUI/AAAAAAAAA38/6q4FaRj6KIo/s1600/1151032_10201892026846094_1027705553_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tw7ym9h3dYc/Uhsk0FeqnUI/AAAAAAAAA38/6q4FaRj6KIo/s320/1151032_10201892026846094_1027705553_n.jpg" width="182" /></a>By the end of this part it was well into the morning, I stopped for a change of socks, a new tee shirt and I ditched the waterproof jacket that was probably not helping at this stage. I also tasted a great ANZAC slice by one of the fellow starters who was now crewing with Jo. 10:32 hours and 60 km done. It was all downhill from here... NOT</div><div>There's 2 200m hills to be negotiated, and the legs ain't running uphill anymore. As I was thinking how much I missed my wife and a good eggs on toasts breakfast, I found a stick discarded by a fellow tramper at the start of a track. I adopted it for good measure, and decided it was only a matter of getting there.&nbsp;</div><div>And there I got. It was just before 12:30pm and I've done it.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-91309142416044676102013-08-13T08:53:00.004+12:002013-08-13T09:00:33.011+12:00Reflection (or not)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The juggle of all other non-running aspects leave me as quite an anti-social type of runner. There is only one window when I can train and organise a trail run. It’s great when I can bring along people for the longer ones, but if it doesn’t happen, then it’s me on my own. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The same for the city training, there’s groups I often train with, but when the opportunity arises to start half hour earlier, then I do it. It is half hour that will go onto something else later on. Or more recovery time.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ukNkAY1m_zo/UglMkyCemGI/AAAAAAAAA3s/1EVdqJnxIp4/s1600/1011844_10151713792362089_513332935_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" jsa="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ukNkAY1m_zo/UglMkyCemGI/AAAAAAAAA3s/1EVdqJnxIp4/s320/1011844_10151713792362089_513332935_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>So, here I am running (biking too) on my own most of the time. With no music device hanging, I am left to thing. Or the complete opposite, to get all thinking and organizing mechanisms out of my head for some time. I was trying to pencil down what I thought on a 2hr city run last week. Result: I could not remember a thing. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It is funny how one has dedicated time to reflect on things yet nothing much happens. The usual routine goes as follow: start run, feel good, check form, think of the run nutritional needs, think of the post-run schedule, chill and enjoy the views, check form, think of future running plans, think of the current programme, assess how they are going, get tired, start thinking how to overcome tiredeness (or how to increase it), check pace, check average pace. Chill.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Then there’s the deadspots, things that I don’t remember and never will. At points I would try to think of a post to keep this log alive, and a plan would materialize. Then I forget. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Running is cleansing the scheduling machine </div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-88082158335495474612013-06-10T12:23:00.001+12:002013-06-10T12:23:07.249+12:00The race switch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Tend not to race often. But when I do I don’t seem to be able not to fully commit to the race and ‘race’ it. Even in a ‘training’ race I’d go a bit faster than I should have.<br /><br /><br />Last weekend I got to visit one of New Zealand’s premier multisport locations for a ½ marathon trail run. It was the usual NZ bush run in a great super-scenic setting .<br /><br />I didn’t have any ambitions, as it was at the end of a busy week. We travelled 200 odd kilometers on the day, which meant a 4:30am start. We didn’t have a lot of time for stretching or warming up. But it didn’t matter, it was good to be out in the trail ready for a bit of action. I’ve been unable to go out of the city for over a month and was keen to get back in the soft surface.<br /><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TJdb_Zdvns8/UbUcX5KJsCI/AAAAAAAAA3M/hj95IYY97vo/s1600/337340-174669-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TJdb_Zdvns8/UbUcX5KJsCI/AAAAAAAAA3M/hj95IYY97vo/s320/337340-174669-14.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a>A bit underdone by lack of hill-specific training, I thought I still had a chance to do well. All of a sudden it was less than 2min to go. I placed in, and for the next minute and a half I enjoyed the effects of turning the race switch on:</div><br />The heart rate slowly raising, the muscles tensed and alert. The breathing getting lighter and the head thinking on the past weeks training and how every session was clinically placed to produce what would be today’s outcome. The eyes scan for the competition, look for familiar faces and the ones that look to make the front pack. The chest broadens and the arms get into swing. <br /><br />And then we’re off. <br /><br />A shot of adrenaline shoots through the muscles, we all go hard for 100/200 metres and then harder, sorting the field as we advance. The mind gets focused on the road ahead, any obstacles and a check of form, of the self and the people around. The eyes move 5 to 7 metres ahead and start looking at clean paths that the body will follow.<br /><br />It is not aggression, is the alertness, determination and synch of it all that makes the turning of the race switch an exhilarating experience. <br /><br />The fun continues for a few minutes and then is back to business, another check of the form, tactics, banter and the other more mundane aspects of racing. <br /><br />As for the race itself it was a great result, 3rd overall. I paid for my lack of climbing, but I was proud to hang on to the two tough guys that beat me. I was even prouder of my downhill running. <br /><br />It is good to be reminded of another reason why I race. I race to turn the race switch. And what a great feeling that is. <br /><br /><br />Stay safe out there, and get muddy.<br /><br /></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-54228900548317554012013-05-23T11:09:00.001+12:002013-05-23T11:09:37.911+12:00Two weeks and two races<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Yeah… time flies when you’re having fun. It was some time since the last post, in that time I managed to get myself into a run and a cycle race. Both of them were fun and I will report both of them from the point of view of the questions the race throws at me.<br /><br /><br />Stride for success running race (5x2km loops up and down):<br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DksbCh8w7ls/UZ1QGTsii5I/AAAAAAAAA28/EmNf88SS6g4/s1600/417810_10151587666599594_1192070581_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DksbCh8w7ls/UZ1QGTsii5I/AAAAAAAAA28/EmNf88SS6g4/s320/417810_10151587666599594_1192070581_n.jpg" width="212" ya="true" /></a>Pre race: How are you feeling? Those calves ready? Will it start as fast as last year? </div>Start: Why is it not going that far this time around? Shall you stay with the front pack? Shall you hurry the front pack up? Will you hang on to the this front pack for the rest of the 5 loops?<br />Lap 2.5: Ooops, eat a gel or hang on to front pack? Catch the pack or wait in no-man’s land?<br />Lap 4: catch the guy in the front up the hill or run him down the hill? Pass him or stay?<br />Lap 5: long drag or sit and wait for the sprint?<br /><br />Cycle for life cyle race (1x107km lap)<br />Pre race: have you done enough hill training? Have you done enough interval training? You sure you want to race in the elite group?<br /><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FXNz_dLhM3U/UZ1PHVGzYHI/AAAAAAAAA2s/zzRyxQiFLWU/s1600/936939_543251262379563_11184076_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FXNz_dLhM3U/UZ1PHVGzYHI/AAAAAAAAA2s/zzRyxQiFLWU/s320/936939_543251262379563_11184076_n.jpg" width="213" ya="true" /></a></div>Start: can you hang on to this fast pace and the upcoming hill? Can you catch the peloton 200m ahead down the hill? Are you able to time trial your way back to the bunch or will you wait for the next bunch?<br />Middle: do you really want to risk a fall in this rain and wind? Are you able to sustain this rate of exertion for another couple of hours? Have you eaten enough? Do you have enough water till the end?<br />End: do you want to sit and wait for the sprint or make this peloton work hard? Will you let those guys go or catch them up the next hill? <br /><br />Races keep throwing us questions and the answers open a series of paths that one can’t return from. If the front pack is gone… it’s gone, there’s no way back. Similarly, if one commits to a hill 100%, then it’s useless to stop ¾ of the way there because the damage is already done, the ticker will be at a high work rate already. Interestingly, though , the mental answers to the questions and the ability to physically back up the replies with action depends a lot on the way we prepared for the race, how we rested, what we ate, what we drunk et cetera. <br /><br />Another race to go in a bit over a week and then into hibernation, exams and who knows… maybe a bit of mountain action. <br /><br /></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-90789240273928033302013-04-29T16:32:00.002+12:002013-04-29T16:41:06.319+12:00Euclid, pizza toppings and Sabina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">What do a greek mathematician, a Spanish songwriter and a lot of veggies and cheese have to do with anything? <br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But they occupied my ‘eadspace over the last workouts. Not in sequence, more like three recurring themes over and over during a long run or a long ride. Thankfully it doesn’t happen in the swim. We’ve got a beeping machine put in our heads for our swim workouts (true, annoying little beepers). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Reading a book about Euclid’s “Elements…” got me back into filling my day with abstract thought of the purest quality: Points, lines and polygons. So much that I found myself revisiting theorems and formulae learnt 15 years ago. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Spanish songs are always there, this was a good classic that I haven’t listened for a while and filtered into my head via some random electric pulse. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And every Saturday is pizza day @ my place, so there is always the worry to keep innovating on the toppings front. This weekend was prosciutto and rocket for pizza 1 and potato and teriyaki infused red onion for pizza 2. Both were outstanding successes. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I purposely put the pizza last because the reason of this post was to raise awareness of the importance of mind drifting, it helps dealing with the chaos of everyday life and training. It also helps to think of scenarios for a given race, or training goal or the day ahead. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Some people call it visualizing, I call it mind drifting, it’s that process of having a movie played in your head, and, on certain great occasions, getting that movie to play in real life. Exactly the same movie. Some people call that success. I call it bliss. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I value mind drifting as one of my best allies to succeed in a race. Playing up falls, dehydration, food stops, flat tyres, rain, heat, GI distress and all sort of scenarios in my head helps me find a way out of them. Sometimes it even works in real life too!, The latest example was during the Tarawera ultra, when I had to switch to fruits and coke diet. I’ve done in my head a few times. Doing it in real life was not the end of the world?!, was it? </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m9C44Bt8xb4/UX33tFaODDI/AAAAAAAAA1s/7A1qUXJKQ1o/s1600/30275_1465572485721_1425781588_31237619_6990410_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" lua="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m9C44Bt8xb4/UX33tFaODDI/AAAAAAAAA1s/7A1qUXJKQ1o/s400/30275_1465572485721_1425781588_31237619_6990410_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The pizza scenario and the fruit and coke scenario are not too distant. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Keep dreaming everyone</div><br /></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-47267918093611870972013-04-23T12:57:00.002+12:002013-04-23T12:57:31.236+12:00To "see the point"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">A very good friend of mine has been pestering me for years to get into mountain biking. For some reason or other I can’t seem to find the time for a new hobby and I’ve kept passing from the invites. Last weekend I said yes, as I thought it was good to have the chance and, as I said, he’s a good mate and the MTB is just an opportunity to catch-up and have a good time. <br /><br /><br />The experience was fun, great views, nice scenery and good climbs. It all came down pronto when I had to go into a singletrack grade 2 hill and lost any ability to coordinate the descend. I overshoot one corner, slipped and hit my privates with the bike’s seat. Then I got too tense to even try and keep a good balance. Hated it for some time. <br />I went a bit more comfortable on round 2, but still not OK.<br /><br />Then it was time for me to park the bike, and follow my make while he went for a couple of more shots. I could run the same speed up and down the technical descents, so overall it was still very good training. <br />But not my thing.<br /><br />What’s different?<br />I&nbsp;just couldn’t see the point on purposely putting myself in danger of falling over trees or roots to go down a hill and not even going fast or going point to point. I’m unsure about the fitness or bike-specific gains for me.<br /><br />It felt a bit of a pointless exercise.<br /><br />But hang on a minute?<br />What about bike or running hill reps?<br />Or swimming up and down a 25m pool 150 times three times a week?<br />Or running like a madman for 5km down a hill to a point where stopping is not guaranteed?<br />Or waking up and going to work every day to have money to pay the bills to continue to live to go to work everyday to have money to pay the bills<br /><br />It is another case of “a matter of perspective”.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--wZt5wK5N8Y/UXXcQUQhyqI/AAAAAAAAA1U/bNwh6nNMGK8/s1600/crazy+mtb.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dua="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--wZt5wK5N8Y/UXXcQUQhyqI/AAAAAAAAA1U/bNwh6nNMGK8/s1600/crazy+mtb.bmp" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how I felt</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USIW06BKyJE/UXXcTXpCGUI/AAAAAAAAA1c/W7fHs_TA70U/s1600/wasy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="136" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USIW06BKyJE/UXXcTXpCGUI/AAAAAAAAA1c/W7fHs_TA70U/s320/wasy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what I&nbsp;wouldn't mind</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Moral of the story for me?<br />Always try something new, but don’t stick to it if you don’t like it. <br />And moral number 2:<br />Close the ‘new hobbies’ account for a few months and get great marks at Uni.<br /><br />A few days&nbsp;on the mountain should come handy. Stay dry out there<br /><br /><br /></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-12628274129911954532013-04-15T19:51:00.001+12:002013-04-15T19:51:17.681+12:00One year un-coached<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It was about 1 year ago that I moved from being a coached triathlete. I realized that the old “crap in/crap out” saying was catching up on me. I wasn’t able to get all the bang I wanted from my buck, basically because&nbsp;I&nbsp;didnt have the time to fit in the workouts.&nbsp;The result was that I still had a swim squad which I go and a run squad that I aim to go as much as I can. I play around in the middle filling spaces here and there according to what events are up and coming. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">After a year, there’s a few pro’s and cons that I’d like to share:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The half empty version:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gRUG8Ddrdo4/UWuxEKabVQI/AAAAAAAAA1E/51a1WVb178U/s1600/IMG_5181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gRUG8Ddrdo4/UWuxEKabVQI/AAAAAAAAA1E/51a1WVb178U/s320/IMG_5181.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There’s a perception of loss. May be top-end run speed, or race ability or something. I guess this is caused by the big void of not having a programme that comes to you. You are the programme and have to keep on your toes otherwise there’s plenty of room for distraction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There’s the less social-more business side of training too. But that’s easily overcome.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The half full view:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There’s a bit of extra money for doing other stuff. Like buying kit, or going to the gym or doing more events or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">coffee.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There’s a lot of learning to be done. Finding out what and how and when different stages of a periodised training should be fitting in my world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There’s the satisfaction of a good outcome. Each race finish takes a new meaning. I am as proud as an athlete as I am as a coach. Double brownie points!.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span>&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Results so far have been good. two PBs and a smooth switch to ultra running, all injury free.</span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;">&nbsp;</span></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The bummer of it all is that this is soooooooooo particular to each individual that I would not advise anyone to do it or not to do it because I know for sure that it would come and haunt me. But if you’re out thinking you might give it a try, all I can say is go for it. There’s plenty of pride to be had by being your own master. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;">&nbsp;</span></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Happy training for the wet week coming!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-10288714521074255202013-04-10T15:15:00.001+12:002013-04-10T15:15:34.775+12:00Mutations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I like to think myself as an endurance beast, although the reality is that I am more of an endurance puppy. This came out of the realization that I’ve been ‘in the sport’ for 5 years. 5 fun years of pounding the asphalt, threading the water and rolling over all sort of terrain in all sorts of weather. From the time when I swam in the sea-year round, to the wettest cycle tour in history with my mate Gordon, there’s so many stories to tell. I will sound like an old man, but there’s so many snapshots of different training rides, or races that provide plenty of motivation to get out there an do it all again. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j54sDdnoCsw/UWTZPca_E8I/AAAAAAAAA00/bCL-GY7I4-0/s1600/IMG_3874-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j54sDdnoCsw/UWTZPca_E8I/AAAAAAAAA00/bCL-GY7I4-0/s320/IMG_3874-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />A common treat of these endurance mutations is the moments of solitude and isolation (even when around a lot of people) and the moments of lots of laughs in good company. I don’t remember feeling more alone than when racing against 3000 others in Budapest, a day to remember for the wrong reasons. Both extremes (solitude and great company) are the backdrop of some learnings I took from these 5 years. On the one side, I’ve learnt a lot about self reliance and resilience, backing myself to achieve a given goal. On the other side, I’ve enjoyed many winters with great people with common goals and great races with lots of camaraderie. <br /><br />Someone said that the only thing constant is change. And while I continue to enjoy change, I’ll enjoy these endurance mutations. <br /><br />This is comeback 3.0<br /><br />I guess comebacks are another constant too : )<br /><br />Stay safe out there. <br /><br /></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2435553761954608365.post-81875484861073234632013-03-22T20:01:00.003+13:002013-03-22T20:01:41.793+13:00Race report – Tarawera Ultra 100km solo - Race report - Even splits my arse! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BRUG-Xb2QQc/UUv9qSVNfAI/AAAAAAAAA0M/nVMbmobekCY/s1600/IMG_3806-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BRUG-Xb2QQc/UUv9qSVNfAI/AAAAAAAAA0M/nVMbmobekCY/s320/IMG_3806-2.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">making sure it's all going to be allright</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5970760863274336" style="font-weight: normal;"><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I got to the Humphries bay aid station thinking about a spreadsheet that was doing the runs on facebook with split times for each aid station. The spreadsheet was calculated on even splits, which I thought was weird given that there was a decent amount of climbing to be negotiated. I still naively adopted it in the hope that it will make me faster.</span></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How did I get to the Outlet thinking that? here’s the story</span></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I signed the Tarawera Ultra by Christmas, which was about 14 weeks out. Since my sporting interests are many, the proper race training wouldn’t kick in until I got the Auckland 70.3 triathlon out of the way which was right after &nbsp;3 weeks holidays tramping in the South Island. I made an attempt to do the Hillary trail with the Huia bush runners in early Jan, but had to give up at 30km to save the knee for later races.</span></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So… by late January I was ready to dive into the lore of running. The preparation included lots of running at some speed in net downhills, to prepare the quads for the 40km dash from Tarawera Falls to Kawerau. It also included new nutrition strategies which involved ordinary food (burritos, ham and cheese croissants and my very own chia bars) both the speed running and the nutrition worked great in training. </span></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B_rROTq5e0Q/UUv-JjTOCrI/AAAAAAAAA0U/KwFzeD3wne4/s1600/IMG_3826-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B_rROTq5e0Q/UUv-JjTOCrI/AAAAAAAAA0U/KwFzeD3wne4/s320/IMG_3826-2.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">happy trails</td></tr></tbody></table><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Came race day we had to adapt to the fire course, so I thought I’d use some speed to start out relatively fast and enjoy ‘clear track’ between the start and Okareka. Paul sent us off in style, and a bit of a drizzle. Surprisingly, though, the track was dusty from the speedsters up the road and I coughed my way out of the first couple of k’s. Keeping the gas on but the ticker at low bpm’s I reached the Blue Lake aid station 10min ahead of schedule my chia bars proved a great success for nourishing me through the first leg. That was part of the plan, now it was time to slow down a bit and get to Okareka within the 1:45 mark. There was chocolate milk and croissants waiting.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Okareka was a flash, so much of a flash that I forgot to drink my Milo. Got the pack on my back, loaded with chia bars and burritos for the road ahead. The idea was to get through the savory stuff before mid-race and then switch to sweeter stuff from aid stations. I didn’t count on the 3km uphill to Millar Rd aid station, whatever I ate at Okareka was now trying to come out to daylight. It all got better at Millar and a nice group formed. I made a point to stay with this group, as they were pacing to get to Okataina in a similar time as me, somewhere in the 2 hour mark. The group was the lead 60km woman and a Darren, a guy I knew was much faster than me in the only other trail race I did. We chatted a little during this leg, Darren tipping Steph about the steep descend from the western Okataina track into the lodge and aid station. She flew down the last 5km and I decided to take the foot off the pedal and not to race wildly to the aid station, used the time to get half a square mea.l down the trhoat. Got there in 2:03 wich was OK but not great.</span></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cJxcPgUSP_I/UUwBXn_jqwI/AAAAAAAAA0k/G3EoYvvvLaU/s1600/IMG_3785-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cJxcPgUSP_I/UUwBXn_jqwI/AAAAAAAAA0k/G3EoYvvvLaU/s320/IMG_3785-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nat being briefed about the race ahed</td></tr></tbody></table><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My wife, love of my life and the greatest crew ever was arriving to the aid station as I stepped out of the bush. I did get my chocolate milk and ½ burrito and &nbsp;was off. I struggled a bit in the technical trail with unsettled stomach, and lost the plot for a few km, which should had been run faster. That was the first turning point of the race. I realized that I could not continue to slow down to digest the food that Nat and I put so much love and attention to prepare. I cogitated about what to do for a couple of km and it became overly clear that I could run the next 6 hours the same way I did the Auckland 70.3 race: Gels, sweets and coke and electrolytes to stabilize. I started with oranges and apples at Humphries. I also realised that the splits were getting waaaaaaay our of the plan, and not in a positive way. That’s when I though “even splits my arse” I was not letting a spreadsheet get in the way of my good mood and the finish line.</span></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I got to the Outlet aid station I was already in a different mood. Not only have I passed the halfway point in a relatively good time. I was already much lighter, clear in my mind and sure that I’d get to the end even if I had to walk. What is more, I was hanging on relatively comfortable to a guy that I knew was much more experienced than me. This leg was 2:08, a good 15 minutes over the planned time.</span></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next leg was for me to run free. I left my pack at the aid station, ate a few pieces of nectarines and left for the trails. This is where I would start counting the pros coming my way. Sage went in and out in a flash. Tim followed a good 12 min behind and Vajin was running happy 20min from Sage. All of them cheered us back, which was uplifting. The turnaround at the Tarawera falls was another milestone. My plan was to start with coke from 60k, and what a difference that sweet shit makes!. &nbsp;I was back to Okataina in 2:18, again, a few more minutes than originally planned. But it was quite clear at this stage that not only my planning had been optimistic, but everyone was going slower than usual. The pit stop at Okataina was very long, I realize in hindsight that I was losing a bit of concentration and should plan better for those moments. Left the aid station as fast as I could, knowing that a- I was 14</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> overall and b- It was a matter of 2 hours to get to the finish. I also knew that the steep downhill of this morning was now a bitch of a hill to get through and that I would have to walk it as fast as I could. </span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VXACgJrPuKw/UUv_MTTJ0TI/AAAAAAAAA0c/B9b9vTyTI5A/s1600/IMG_3896-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VXACgJrPuKw/UUv_MTTJ0TI/AAAAAAAAA0c/B9b9vTyTI5A/s320/IMG_3896-2.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing in style</td></tr></tbody></table><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty, but once it was over, there’s a net downhill to the finish and a 3km downhill on the road to the aid station. I was doing the same kind of pace in the last 3km as I did on the first 3km. Nat ran the last 600m with me, and we crossed the line just below 11:50. Not the grandiose sub-11 I had planned for, but still within my top 15% target (just)</span></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few days later the itchy question of what would have been the story on the faster course is stuck in the back of my mind. Can't wait for next time.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">\(^-^)/</span></span></div></b></div></div>valenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683054963550064344noreply@blogger.com0